When the Jets traded for Tim Tebow, they insisted he would be Mark Sanchez’s backup. That hasn’t stopped fans and media members from speculating if and when Tebow will take over the starting job.

ESPN analysts Stephen A. Smith and Chris Carter spent a large portion of Thursday’s “SportsCenter” debating who should take snaps for the Jets, even though the 2012 Season doesn’t start for another four months.

Tebow has impressed a lot of people at Jets camp, and his new teammates have said a lot of kind words about him. Jets cornerback Darrelle Revis praised Tebow when speaking with the media.

“He’s a born leader,” Revis said. “Very few athletes have the gift he has. He tries to lead by example all the time.”

Despite all the kind words being said about Tebow, Sanchez will almost certainly begin the season under center for New York. He signed a contract extension in March, and led Gang Green to the AFC Championship game in his first two seasons in the NFL.

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The Jets have also stated countless times that they acquired Tebow to backup Sanchez, and play in the Wildcat offense. The Jets traded a fourth and sixth round draft pick for Tebow and a Broncos seventh round selection.

New York would have a lot of egg on their face if Sanchez began the 2012 Season on the bench.

But who deserves to start for the Jets?

Both Tebow and Sanchez have somewhat similar resumes. The quarterbacks have a reputation for winning games while putting up subpar stats.

In 2009 and 2010, Sanchez and the Jets came one game away from reaching the Super Bowl. The quarterback got credit for helping his team win games, but threw four more interceptions than touchdowns during that time.

Sanchez was better last season, completing 26 touchdowns and 18 interceptions, but the Jets failed to make the postseason.

Tebow is the ultimate example of a player whose impact can’t be measured by stats.

He turned Denver’s season around in 2011 when he took over as the starter, and led them to a division title and a playoff win. The former Bronco did this while posting the worst completion percentage of any starting quarterback in the league.

Sanchez has been a winner with the Jets, but many in the organization reportedly don’t think he has what it takes to lead the Jets to the Promised Land.

If New York truly doesn’t believe Sanchez has what it takes to get to the next level, Tebow may eventually get his shot to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke.

It’s Sanchez’s job to lose, but it might not take much for him to lose it.

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Brett Favre’s ‘sexting’ scandal that dates all the way back to 2008 when he was starting quarterback for the New York Jets, is clearly an issue should have been put to bed by now.

Instead, Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Milton Tingling ruled last month that the lawsuit brought against Favre, the New York Jets and Jets team supervisor Lisa Ripi, by former Jets masseuses Christine Scavo and Shannon O’Toole, will not be dismissed.

Scavo and O’Toole allege that Favre flirted with them in text messages, close to the same time the legendary quarterback was accused of sending sexy text messages and lewd, below-the-belt photos of himself to former Jets employee, Jenn Sterger.

“Brett here. You and Crissy want to get together? I’m all alone,” Favre wrote in one message, according to their lawsuit filed last year. “Kinda lonely tonight. I guess I have bad intentions.”

Clearly, Favre was in the wrong from the standpoint that he was married at the time, and sending flirtacious texts to other women was a slight against his wife, Deanna Favre.

But the lawsuit has nothing to do with Favre being married, and everything to do with sexual harassment and job discrimination.

The legal definition of sexual harassment is “unwelcome verbal, visual, or physical conduct of a sexual nature that is severe or pervasive and affects working conditions or creates a hostile work environment.”

Favre was never Scavo and O’Toole’s superior, as he was simply a fellow New York Jets employee who could not fire, promote, demote, or reassign the two masseuses.

If you’re not someone’s superior who has the ability to change the status of one’s job, it’s only sexual harassment if the conduct unreasonably interferes with work performance or creates an “intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.”

In my view, Favre’s text message to Scavo wasn’t intimidating, hostile or overly offensive. He simply asked if the women wanted to get together because he was feeling lonely. Of course it was slightly flirtacious, but I didn’t view it as something that would create a hostile work environment.

Apparently these women often gave players private massages in the athletes’ personal homes, outside of the Jets’ practice facility.

Of course that doesn’t make it alright for the players to flirt with them, but it’s easy to see how a male athlete can get mixed signals from a private massage from a female in the comfort of their own homes.

Even in the most basic medical massage, there’s a lot of touching and feeling that goes on, which Favre may have interpreted as a sexual advance on their part.

Another item missing from the reports is exactly how and why Favre had the masseuses’ personal phone numbers in the first place. If the masseuses gave their numbers to Favre directly, he may have viewed that as flirtacious behavior.

In an ESPN.com report, Jets team supervisor Lisa Ripi ripped into both Favre and the former team masseuses.

“There are ways to handle things in a professional manner and ways to be compensated not in public. … All this nonsense is unnecessary,” Ripi wrote, according to the lawsuit. “For sure feel horrible that u had to go thru that w a pervert. … He was wrong on all counts…and we cldve helped u a lot more at that time.”

Perhaps what we can learn from this is that NFL teams should look into hiring male masseuses to avoid such situations in the future.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nfl/news/story?id=5985582, ESPN.com, quotes

The New York Jets backfield combination of LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene lacked the explosive power and game-breaking runs that fans were accustomed to seeing under Rex Ryan’s first two years as head coach. Gang Green’s ground and pound attack would receive a much needed shot in the arm by drafting Alabama running back Trent Richardson. Richardson is projected to go as a top-5 pick in many mock drafts and with the Jets slated to pick at No. 16, they would have to exchange multiple draft picks in order to secure the Crimson Tide star.

The Jets are no strangers to making a big draft day splash. In 2007, Gang Green made a draft day trade with Carolina to move up 11 spots (from No. 25 to No. 14) in order to draft what turned out to be a three-time all-pro cornerback, Darrelle Revis. In 2009, they pulled off another blockbuster draft day trade, this time with Cleveland. New York moved up from No. 17 to No. 5 in order to draft their current starting quarterback, Mark Sanchez.

With Indianapolis and Washington confirming Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III respectively as the draft’s top two picks, this leaves the Jets in a difficult situation. It’s highly unlikely that Minnesota would trade their No. 3 pick as they are in dire need of USC’s offensive tackle Matt Kalil to protect their young quarterback, Christian Ponder.

Cleveland has the No. 4 pick in this year’s draft and the Jets are hoping that they can strike gold twice and pull off another trade to move up, especially with Cleveland’s history of trading away top picks. Last year’s rushing tandem of Shonn Greene and LaDainian Tomlinson saw the Jets fall amongst the bottom tier teams in rushing yards, ranking 22nd in both total rushing yards and rushing yards per game. Still, Greene had solid numbers last year, racking up over 1,000 yards.

Many speculate that a deal with Cleveland to move up to No. 4 would require the Jets to give up at least two future draft picks. The deal that the Atlanta Falcons made in last year’s draft with Cleveland has become an effective formula for moving up in the first round draft order. The Falcons sent picks No. 27, No. 59, and No. 124 as well as this year’s first-round and fourth-round picks to Cleveland to move up to No. 6 and draft receiver Julio Jones.

Cleveland would likely expect the same type of deal for this year’s No. 5 overall pick. Any deal with the Browns would possibly involve Greene, Bilal Powell or Joe McKnight on the move as Cleveland is in need of reinforcements at the running back position. With Richardson’s superstar potential, this might be a risk that the Jets are willing to take.

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According to a Newsday report, Santonio Holmes gave his blessing for the New York Jets to select a No. 2 wide receiver in the Apr. 26 NFL Draft.

“If he’s looking forward to coming in here and working, I’m willing to accept that and allow myself to help him grow and be a part of this team,” Holmes said in the report.

Here’s a look at three wide receivers the Jets might have a shot at with their No. 16 pick:

Michael Floyd

Floyd, a 6-foot-3 standout from Notre Dame, is projected to be selected somewhere in the middle of the first round, and he should still be available when the Jets make their pick at No. 16.

If the Jets are thinking offense in the first round, Floyd is probably their best bet. Last year at Notre Dame, the 22-year-old put up some big numbers that included 100 receptions for 1,147 yards and nine touchdown catches.

His DUI arrest in March of 2011 might be enough to scare most teams away, but his tremendous upside and elite skillset are too much to pass up.

I believe his character issues are a thing of the past.

Stephen Hill

Kansascity.com projects Hill getting selected No. 22 overall, and my guess is that he’ll definitely be available when the Jets make their pick at No. 16.

Hill, a 6-foot-4 talent from Georgia Tech, has a nice height advantage and a great 215-pound frame that should help him at the pro level. He’s a nice route runner, top-level deep threat and excellent leader who won’t cause any off-the-field problems. I like Hill as a complement to Holmes’ style.

Kendall Wright

Justin Blackmon is definitely going to be off the table by the time the Jets’ No. 16 pick rolls around, and their next best option at wide receiver might be Wright if Floyd is also gone.

Wright’s 5-foot-10 height may scare off some potential suitors, but his quickness and raw athleticism should have the Jets’ brass excited. One of my concerns is that his quarterback at Baylor was Robert Griffin III, which definitely boosted his stats a tad.

How he would fare as Tim Tebow or Mark Sanchez’s target is anyone’s guess, but something tells me his diminutive size may present a problem.

Should the Jets select a wide receiver with their No. 16 first-round pick? Let me know in the comments.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

www.nfl.com, NFL, team and player stats

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, New York Jets owner Woody Johnson says his team “passed on” Peyton Manning and instead chose to sign quarterback Mark Sanchez to a three-year contract extension.

“We passed on him,” Johnson said in the report. “Sanchez is not leaving. We’ve got a pretty good tether. We’ve got five years. We like Mark.”

Much of the team’s success or failure this season will likely hinge on Sanchez’s ability to get along with his wide receivers, including the former locker room outcast Santonio Holmes.

From their recent tweets, it appears that their rocky relationship is on the mend.

Here’s a look at the top New York Jets’ tweets of the week:

Santonio Holmes

Is this really the same Santonio Holmes who was benched in the final minutes of the last game of the regular season for arguing with his teammates in the huddle? Holmes’ recent tweets makes him look like the model for team unity.

On March 12, after learning that Sanchez’s contract had been extended, he tweeted “Very happy for Mark & the entire team with his extension. Looking forward to getting back to work when I get back this amazing trip @nyjets.”

Sanchez (@mark_sanchez) hasn’t tweeted in close to a month, but one of his recent tweets was comically asking Holmes to be his valentine for Valentine’s Day. Follow Holmes on Twitter @santonio10.

Nick Mangold

Much like Holmes, Mangold also weighed in on the Mark Sanchez contract extension. On March 10, he tweeted “Very excited to have @Mark_Sanchez with our team for many more years! On a side note, I’m happy he will still have to pay for dinners #JETS.” Follow Mangold on Twitter @nickmangold.

Antonio Cromartie

Cromartie used Twitter to give a shoutout to Vincent Jackson for his new five-year, $55.5 million deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On March 13, Cromartie tweeted ” Congrats to Vincent Jackson on his new deal with the Bucs well deserve.” Follow Cromartie on Twitter @acromartie.

Dustin Keller

Keller apparently has no love for the Dallas Fort Worth airport. On March 11, he tweeted “The Dallas Fort Worth airport sucks!!! They should be ashamed of themselves..worst airport in the United States!!!”

He didn’t go into detail what the specific problem was, so the issue remains a mystery at this time. Follow Keller on Twitter @dustinkeller81.

John Connor

Jets fullback John Connor is excited about the upcoming NCAA tournament. On March 11, he tweeted “I think we needed that loss vandy played with a lot of heart. Let’s get ready to dominate this tourney! #BBN.” Follow Connor on Twitter @jconnor38.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan and New York resident. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

The Cincinnati Bengals liked John Griffin enough during training camp last summer to tell the former T&G Super Team football player to stick around town for a few days after releasing him in September.

The Bengals ended up going in another direction and didn’t bring back the rookie running back.

But Griffin did hear from a few other teams and worked out for the New York Jets in November before they signed him Jan. 3.

“They kind of made it clear I was pretty high on their list,” Griffin said recently. “I was under the impression I was going to get a call (after the season). If not, I had some other workouts lined up.

“I’m definitely glad to be playing football. It’s a blessing. A lot of guys have moved on to other parts of their life.”

Most of those guys have played football a lot, lot longer than Griffin, who really didn’t take up the sport until his senior year of high school. All of which makes the fact he has an opportunity to play in the NFL all the more remarkable.

Griffin only weighed about 110 pounds when he was a freshman at Oakmont Regional. However, he was a tremendous athlete, one who decided to join the basketball and track teams.

As for football, it just wasn’t something the thin teen ever had any interest in.

“I stuck to my strong points,” Griffin, now 24, said.

The strategy paid off as Griffin helped the Spartans reach the Division 2 state basketball final as a sophomore before winning the high jump at the Central Mass. track championships a few months later and the 100-meter dash at the state meet the following year.

Prior to the start of his junior year in 2005, Griffin moved to Texas with his family. It wasn’t long before he found himself back in Massachusetts.

It was then that Dave LaRoche, who coached Griffin in track and was in the first year of his second stint as the Spartans’ football coach, made his recruiting pitch.

“I knew how fast he was, so I was always interested,” LaRoche recalled.

The Hall of Fame coach and the would-be player had a chat. Griffin agreed to give football a go and got into a couple of junior varsity games that fall.

“That was his first time playing football,” LaRoche said. “He had a little taste of it, and that was it. He certainly became a force for us.”

Did he ever.

Griffin returned for his senior year and spearheaded the Spartans to an 11-1 record and a Super Bowl victory while rushing for 1,215 yards, scoring a school-record 25 touchdowns and averaging nearly 30 yards a reception.

“We knew how fast he was — knew we could run speed sweeps and reverses with him — but we had no idea how tough he was,” LaRoche said. “You don’t know how kids are going to react to getting hit. But he was exceptionally physical.”

Griffin’s play drew the interest of numerous colleges, including Maine, New Hampshire and Northeastern. He ended up signing a scholarship with the Huskies, attracted to the Boston school by its co-op program.

Griffin spent three years at Northeastern, where he was a first-team All-Colonial Athletic Association selection as a junior after rushing for a conference-leading 1,009 yards in 2009. The school dropped football after that season, leading Griffin to transfer to UMass.

Griffin, part of a backfield that included Jonathan Hernandez of Leominster, concluded his collegiate career by rushing for 843 yards for the 6-5 Minutemen. That total included 96 in a near upset of Michigan at the Big House and 75 in a win over Holy Cross.

Although he was bypassed in the 2011 NFL Draft, Griffin latched on with the Bengals. After being released, he played for the Omaha Nighthawks of the United Football League.

The league is on shaky ground financially, but the opportunity to continue learning the ins and outs of being a pro was invaluable to Griffin.

“It was fun,” he said. “I was just happy to be back in football, and it worked out well.”

Work is what Griffin is all about these days.

He’s back at Northeastern — and still on scholarship — taking four classes, which will leave him two shy of earning a degree in sociology, and training with the Huskies’ strength and conditioning coach and the track team in preparation for when offseason workouts begin with the Jets in mid-April.

“Right now is the time to make your weak points your strong points,” said Griffin, who is listed at 5-foot-10 and 208 pounds. “All I can control is what’s in my hands. That’s getting bigger, faster and stronger, and graduating.”

The fact he’s been cut once by an NFL team was obviously disappointing. But rather than be discouraged, Griffin has turned it into a motivational tool.

When he considers going out at night, his thoughts invariably turn to what others might be doing with their time at that moment. That inevitably leads him back to the gym.

“It resonates and motivates you to want to work harder,” Griffin said. “Getting released by one team doesn’t mean football isn’t for you. It just means it wasn’t a good fit for you. There are tons of stories in the NFL about guys making it late.”

However, there aren’t as many involving guys who started playing football as late as Griffin. Which is what makes his story so notable.

The New York Jets had no choice but to “play and pray” on Jan. 1. Unfortunately, the football gods weren’t there to answer their prayers, as a 19-17 loss to the Miami Dolphins, combined with the Tennessee Titans’ 23-22 win over the Houston Texans, mathematically eliminated them from the playoffs. With the Jets losing and Titans coming away victorious, the AFC playoff picture is a bit clearer.

The game was over when: Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez, who threw three interceptions in the game, was picked off by Dolphins linebacker Marvin Mitchell with 2:55 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Jets were down 16-10 at the time, but just 10 yards away from taking the lead back with a touchdown pass. Instead, Mitchell jumped in front of Shonn Greene to grab the pick, and took it all the way back to the Jets’ 36-yard line, which set up a Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter for a 44-yard field goal to put his team up 19-10, essentially sealing the win.

The difference: Even though the Dolphins had one of the toughest defenses in the NFL to run against, the Jets reverted back to the ground-and-pound style of offense that made them so successful in 2009 and 2010. LaDainian Tomlinson, playing in what could be the final game of his career, put in a vintage performance and looked like a guy with plenty of gas left in the tank.

Tomlinson rushed for 33 yards on six carries in the first half alone, and he surpassed Jerome Bettis early in the third quarter for fifth all-time in rushing yards. The Jets also established Shonn Greene early on, utilizing his downhill, straight-up-the-middle rushing approach to wear the Dolphins out by the end of the first half. Greene had 10 carries for 38 yards by halftime. Greene finished with 55 yards on the ground.

But with the Jets falling behind in the second half and with time running down, they were forced to rely on their passing attack, and Mark Sanchez’s late-interceptions would ultimately do the Jets in. Sanchez’s final line was abysmal, as his 207 passing yards and two touchdown completions didn’t mean much in comparison to his three game-changing interceptions.

Overall: The first half was ugly on both sides. Manish Mehta, Jets beat writer for the New York Daily News, tweeted at halftime that “The Dolphins’ last four drives include three 3-and-outs and an INT. Not good.” Seconds later, Mehta tweeted “#nyjJets offense: Four 3-and-outs in six drives in the first half. Also, not good. #nyj.”

Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez didn’t do much to quiet his critics, as his interception toss nine seconds before halftime resulted in a 58-yard field goal from Dolphins kicker Dan Carpenter. With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Santonio Holmes was seen on camera screaming at one of his teammates in the huddle and was then benched. At his post-game press conference, he was asked if he wanted to return to the Jets next year and he responded by not answering the question, simply saying “Thank you guys” to the media on hand.

Even if the Jets won, they would have been out of the playoff chase with Houston falling short against Tennessee, but a well-played victory over the Dolphins could have been a nice springboard to propel them into next season. Now, after finishing 8-8 with three straight losses down the stretch, they have a long offseason to ponder what exactly went wrong this year.

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

Sources

www.nfl.com, NFL, player and team stats

www.twitter.com/thejetsstream, Manish Mehta tweets

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Looks like nobody stayed on script since mid-Fall in this Season at the Improv, when the Dolphins were in mid-free fall and first saw the Jets.

Matt Moore, who made his first Dolphins start that night, plays quarterback for the AFC offense with the most pass plays longer than 25 yards and featuring the Dolphins’ first 1,000-yard receiving and rushing combination, Brandon Marshall and Reggie Bush (but not Sunday). The Dolphins didn’t see their coach fired after an 0-7 start, but after their second loss in the next five games. With the playoffs in sight, the Jets got smacked around each of the past two weeks and have been less consistent than the Dolphins.

Now, New York’s green team comes to town needing a win to start the dominoes falling toward another in-by-their-heel-skin playoff berth.

OK, that you might have guessed. That’s typical of a game that features the Dolphins and Jets, who comprise the NFL rivalry that regularly pours the wacky sauce on an NFL weekend.

Season finales are no exception. Remember how Brett Favre’s season in New York, 2008, ended foiled by a leaping Ted Ginn touchdown catch and defensive end Philip Merling’s interception-return touchdown?

Take the situation of one of the two probable Hall of Famers possibly ending their careers Sunday, the Jets’ LaDainian Tomlinson and the Dolphins’ Jason Taylor.

Taylor has played the second-most games as a Dolphin behind arguably South Florida’s greatest sporting icon, Dan Marino. He has been a local community pillar, similar to Marino. And it’s entirely possible during the pregame ceremony honoring him — the Dolphins ask that fans be in their seats by 12:45 p.m. — he will hear boos from the Dolphins fans who can’t forgive Taylor for being a Jet during 2010.

“There are a lot of coincidences I guess,” Taylor said. “It’s great to end at home. It’s great to have a chance to walk away and do it in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against.

“I want to win. I want to win the game. I don’t want to win the game so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career and all that stuff. It’s not about that. There’s guys in this locker room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs, trying to improve and grow their game and their career, so I’m just a small piece of this team train.”

That train has gone on some serpentine tracks. Ask Dolphins players if this is the weirdest season they have been a part of and you get either “definitely” or a head-shaking “it’s football.”

Nobody’s saying the Jets marched in a straight line to their end, whatever that might be. Instead of a secure future with a quarterback settling into a groove, Jets coach Rex Ryan finds himself refuting questions about Mark Sanchez’s future and fielding a mediocre defense.

“I really think we can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” Ryan said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defense, I think we can run the football and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.

“So, can we do some things if we can get in? I think we can. Are we better than the eight wins? I think you are who you are. Right now, we’ve won eight games.”

But, then in the next breath, Ryan said: “I’ll tell you what’s interesting. When you look at when we played Miami … 0-7 to start with, 5-3 their last eight games. I’ve always said that they were a better team than their record. I never thought there was any doubt. And the fact that they’re 5-3 in their last eight games I think proves that they’re a better team.”

Just like it all graphed out two and a half months ago.

MIAMI – Jason Taylor’s ready to hang it up, while the New York Jets are desperate to keep playing.

Taylor plans to retire after Sunday’s season finale for the Miami Dolphins. They’ll try to send him out with a win against the Jets, who need a victory to keep alive their slim hopes of making the playoffs.

Even if the Jets win, to earn a post-season berth they’ll also need losses Sunday by Cincinnati, Tennessee and either Denver or Oakland.

“This is the first time I have ever been in a situation like this,” said receiver Plaxico Burress, a 10-year veteran. “If we do get in, great. If things don’t work out, we have nobody to blame but ourselves.”

The Jets (8-7) lost control of their destiny when they were beaten last week by the Giants 29-14. Now the Jets are in danger of missing the playoffs after reaching the AFC championship game each of the past two years, and elimination could come at the hands of the AFC East rival Dolphins (5-10).

“It would be beautiful to ruin their playoff dreams,” Miami defensive end Kendall Langford said. “We’re playing for pride. They’re playing for a playoff spot.”

The teams meet in a regular-season finale for the first time since 2008, when the Dolphins won to clinch their only division title since 2000. That game eliminated the Jets from playoff contention.

This year the Dolphins have been consigned to a spoiler’s role since Halloween, thanks to their 0-7 start. Taylor’s retirement announcement this week provided some additional motivation for the last game.

The NFL’s active sack leader spent 13 of his 15 seasons with Miami, made the Pro Bowl six times and ranks with the greatest players in franchise history.

“His presence will be missed, not only in our locker room, but in this organization,” receiver Brandon Marshall said. “Those guys are once-in-a-lifetime guys. We would love for him to go out with a win.”

Coincidentally, Taylor played last season for the Jets before rejoining the Dolphins.

“He was a great teammate, and we loved having him here,” Jets tight end Dustin Keller said. “But they’re going to want to send him off with a big win, and we can’t let that happen. We know what kind of player he is and what he’s capable of, and we can’t let him disrupt the game.”

Taylor has 16 1/2 of his 139 1/2 sacks against the Jets, although he managed none when the teams met in October. New York won 24-6, and while the Dolphins have been a much better team lately, they’ll be without 1,000-yard rusher Reggie Bush because of a knee injury.

The Dolphins took a 17-point lead at New England last week before losing 27-24, which left them 0-5 in games decided by a field goal or less. The Jets’ loss to the Giants carried even more sting, because it may wind up costing them a playoff berth.

Coach Rex Ryan declared months ago that these Jets are even more talented than the two teams he took to the AFC title game. But New York has given up 74 points while losing the past two games, and the offence was so out of sorts against the Giants that Mark Sanchez was forced to throw a career-high 59 passes. The Jets rank 27th in the NFL in yardage, stirring speculation about offensive co-ordinator Brian Schottenheimer’s job security.

With typical bravado, Ryan insisted the season might yet be salvaged.

“We can do some damage if we get into the playoffs,” he said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt about that, because I think we play excellent defence, I think we can run the football, and I think that’s what you have to do this time of year.”

But getting to the post-season is now a long shot. Three of the other games that will determine the Jets’ fate are late starts Sunday, which means that if they win, the Jets will likely be flying home when they learn whether their season is over.

“We’re just focused on the things we can control, and that’s trying to play well against Miami and coming up with a win,” Sanchez said. “After that, we’ll see what happens. Hopefully we get a win and on the plane we find out everything worked out in our favour. But all we can control is winning.”

The Dolphins, meanwhile, are bound for another off-season of change. Coach Tony Sparano was fired Dec. 12, and the next coach will be Miami’s seventh since the start of 2004. With a losing record for the third consecutive year — the Dolphins’ first such stretch since the 1960s — a roster shake-up is likely, too.

Given his team’s situation, the 37-year-old Taylor decided the time was right to call it quits. He’ll do it after playing his 204th game for the Dolphins, more than anyone aside from Dan Marino.

“It’s great to have a chance to walk away in front of your home crowd in a city that means a lot to you against an opponent that you’ve had a tremendous history against,” Taylor said. “I want to win the game, but not so I can say I won my last game. This is not about Jason Taylor and my career. There are guys in the locker-room that are fighting for jobs, fighting for their futures, auditioning for their next jobs. So I’m just a small piece of this team train. I’m going to do my part Sunday to help win.”

FLORHAM PARK, N.J. – Rex Ryan expects Brian Schottenheimer to be running the New York Jets’ offence again next season.

Unless, of course, the embattled offensive co-ordinator becomes a head coach elsewhere.

Schottenheimer has been widely criticized by fans and some media as the Jets’ offence has struggled all season and quarterback Mark Sanchez has not progressed the way the team expected. Some reports have speculated that Schottenheimer’s job could be in serious jeopardy if the Jets fail to make the playoffs.

“I’ll say that, obviously, if he gets a head coaching job, then ‘See you later,’” Ryan said Friday. “I’ll be happy to see that. Do I expect him back? It’s probably 50-50 on that, because I think there is an opportunity for Brian to get a head coaching job this year. I thought it the first two years, but it wasn’t to be. He certainly will be a qualified applicant to be a head coach, that’s for sure.”

Schottenheimer has turned down a few interview opportunities in previous years to remain with the Jets, including Buffalo’s vacancy after the 2009 season. But with increasing criticism of the 27th-ranked offence and Schottenheimer’s play calling, he potentially could look elsewhere this time around.

Although Ryan mostly sidestepped the issue earlier in the week, Friday marked his most definitive show of support for Schottenheimer. When asked what would happen if Schottenheimer does not get a head coaching job this off-season, Ryan responded: “Then, I expect him back.”

Schottenheimer signed a two-year contract extension in the off-season that would keep him with the Jets through the 2013 season, and he said Thursday he would like to remain with the team.

“I’ve said all along, I love being here,” he said. “All I’m worried about is this weekend, because that is what I can control.”

The Jets (8-7) will play the Dolphins (5-10) in Miami on Sunday needing a win and plenty of help from other teams if they are to make the post-season for the third straight year.

Schottenheimer doesn’t think he needs his offence to have a great game to save his job, and he has taken similar heat at times in his previous five seasons with the Jets. But the public outcry against him has been stronger than ever — a Facebook page has been set up to support the cause — and owner Woody Johnson could potentially look to send a message if New York fails to reach the post-season after consecutive trips to the AFC title game.

Most players have publicly supported Schottenheimer, saying there’s plenty of blame to pass around for their subpar performance.

“We appreciate him being the type of guy to stand up in front of us and say, ‘You know what, guys? My mistake on that. That was a bad call by me,’” running back LaDainian Tomlinson said of Schottenheimer. “He’s done that plenty of times. So who are we to criticize? When I miss a block, that’s my own fault. I missed the block. We just have to hold each other accountable and have each other’s backs at all times.”

Schottenheimer, the son of former NFL coach Marty Schottenheimer, was surprisingly upbeat when he met with the media Thursday and insisted he wasn’t letting the criticism get to him.

“Rex and I talk about that all the time,” Schottenheimer said. “We learn so much about this game, just growing up around our fathers, that maybe it allows you to handle things like this a little bit better than most.”

Notes: LB Garrett McIntyre (knee) is questionable for Sunday’s game after being limited in practice. CB Antonio Cromartie (hamstring) and S Eric Smith (knee) also were limited, but Ryan says both will play. … S Jim Leonhard was in the locker-room for the first time since surgery two weeks ago on the torn patellar tendon in his right knee that ended his season. He was on crutches and said his recovery would be up to six months. Leonhard, coming off his second straight serious season-ending injury, is due to become a free agent in March. “I’m 100 per cent confident that I’m going to be playing football somewhere next year,” he said. “Obviously, with the history here, you’d like it to be here, but you never know.” Added Ryan: “A guy like Jimmy Leonhard, I expect that he will be able to come back. I don’t think he is through playing.” … The Jets announced their team awards, which included CB Darrelle Revis being named MVP by his teammates, Tomlinson selected “most inspirational” and TE Dustin Keller named the “Walter Payton Man Of The Year” for his extensive charity work.

According to a Yahoo! Sports report, the NFL had its usual array of intriguing storylines in 2011. From the emergence of Tim Tebow as the starting quarterback of the Denver Broncos, to the offseason lockout, to Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning losing the season due to neck surgery, the media had plenty to talk about this year.

Some of the other top stories in the NFL this year were Aaron Rodgers’ emergence as one of the premier quarterbacks in the league, and the passing of the legendary Oakland Raiders owner, Al Davis. But here in New York, Rex Ryan’s weekly trash-talking and Mark Sanchez’s passing woes dominated much of the local headlines.

Here’s a look at the top five New York Jets stories of 2011:

Jets Beat Patriots, 28-21, In Instant Playoff Classic

Mark Sanchez completed 16 of 25 for 194 yards and three touchdowns to lead his team to a 28-21 win Jan. 16 over the AFC East rival New England Patriots in what Jets coach Rex Ryan called “the second biggest game in franchise history.”

The Jets were clicking on all cylinders, as Sanchez’s incredible performance was perhaps overshadowed by New York’s stellar defense, who intercepted Patriots quarterback Tom Brady once and methodically picked apart New England’s ground game. “We came here for a reason, we got the victory, and I couldn’t be happier,” said Rex Ryan after the game. “That’s a great football team, a great franchise, but we’re not afraid of anybody.”

Sal Alosi Resigns

Jets strength and conditioning coach Sal Alosi made the boneheaded decision to trip Miami Dolphins cornerback Nolan Carroll while the rookie was returning a punt in the third quarter of a Jets-Dolphins game last season, and the trip would ultimately cost Alosi his job. Carroll immediately fell to the turf and was slow to get up after Alosi tripped him. “I made a mistake that showed a total lapse in judgment,” Alosi said in a statement released by the Jets about 2 1/2 hours after the game. “My conduct was inexcusable and unsportsmanlike and does not reflect what this organization stands for.”

Perhaps to avoid creating any lingering distractions, Alosi announced his resignation in January of 2011, just a few weeks after the tripping incident occurred . “After speaking with Sal, he decided that it is best for him to tender his resignation at this time,” said Jets GM Mike Tannenbaum. “We appreciate all of Sal’s contributions during his tenure with the team. He played an invaluable role in our success and established what we feel is one of the better strength and conditioning programs in the NFL.”

Jets Lose Ground-and-Pound Identity

Early in the 2011 season, the Jets got away from much of the rush-heavy attack that made them so successful in 2009 and 2010. In the season-opener against the Dallas Cowboys, Mark Sanchez threw 44 times while the team ran the ball just 16 times. “You’ve got to give Dallas credit, both schematically and in the personnel,” Ryan said following the game.

“Going into the game, we thought we were going to run the ball more than we did. Give credit to my brother [defensive coordinator Rob] and Dallas. They took that away from us.”And even in a Week 16 loss to the New York Giants, Sanchez attempted a career-high 59 passes. Any time Sanchez is allowed to throw that much is a recipe for disaster.

Nick Mangold and Jim Leonard Injuries Loom Large

The Jets haven’t won a game since losing starting safety Jim Leonard to a season-ending knee injury in the beginning of December. Just how important is Leonard to the Jets? New York linebacker Jamaal Westerman told ESPN that Leonard “is a calming influence in the back end. If you can look back there he’ll tell you where to line up. We really need him because with him we’re so much better than without him.” Losing starting center Nick Mangold for several games early this season was another key injury, as the Jets lost 34-17 to the Baltimore Ravens when he was sidelined.

LT Mulls Retirement

LaDainian Tomlinson’s comments to reporters prior to the New Year’s Day clash with the Miami Dolphins sounded cryptically like a retirement speech in the making. “There’s definitely a thought that this possibly could be [my last game] because you never know how things shake out,” the star running back said. “For me, it just depends on the situation. I’d like to keep playing but if the situation is not right, I won’t. It’s possible that this could be my last game.”

Eric Holden is a lifelong New York Jets fan. Follow him on Twitter @ericholden.

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The Philadelphia Eagles have plenty of reasons to be bitter at the New York Jets. First the Eagles destroyed the Jets on Dec. 18 to get their hopes up for a miracle playoff run, and then the Jets ruined that by losing to the New York Giants on Dec. 24. But while Philadelphia fans are stewing in disappointment, they can take solace in how New York fans – also like myself – are equally disappointed in their team.

The Jets have gone from potential Super Bowl contenders to playoff long shots in the span of just a few weeks. What’s more, New York has lived through this situation before – which pretty much triggered the Rex Ryan/Mark Sanchez era to begin with.

Before Ryan and Sanchez arrived in 2009, New York was just coming off the end of its stint in the Brett Favre soap opera. In 2008, the Jets had Super Bowl hype around them when Favre came to town, but they started slowly with a 3-3 record. Likewise in 2011, the team stumbled out of the gate to a 2-3 start. Yet in midseason, the 2008 and 2011 squads got on a roll and looked ready to make a big run.

The 2008 team was a bit hotter, as it won five straight games to go to 8-3. And since the defending champion Giants only had one loss at the time, hype for an all-New York Super Bowl was building up. However, once the Jets got their eighth win everything started to fall apart – like it has for the 2011 edition.

The outcomes aren’t completely similar, since Favre’s Jets did at least get a ninth win while Sanchez’s team is still stuck at 8-7. But in both cases, they had chances to lock up playoff berths and utterly collapsed in the month of December. Favre ran out of gas and was more hobbled up than usual, three years before Sanchez completely crumbled against the Eagles and Giants.

The 2008 Jets got so bad in their final two losses that it triggered a full scale makeover, as Favre “retired” again, Eric Mangini was fired and the Ryan era was ready to begin. New York seemed to get the better end of that deal with two straight AFC title game appearances, yet Ryan and Sanchez have now reached the low point of their tenure.

If the 2011 Jets complete their collapse and miss the playoffs as well, it might not get Ryan and Sanchez out of town like the 2008 downfall did to Mangini and Favre. However, after three years of talk and bluster and no Super Bowls for Ryan, and after another season of regression from Sanchez, their time is starting to run out. After this, New York might not forgive another year or two with this kind of ending – or any other ending before the first week of February.

In 2009 and 2010, the Jets proved to be experts at ending a season on a hot streak. But in between , there have been a pair of pretty ugly Decembers that have kept New York from January. The consequences for the horrible ending of 2011 may not be as severe as the ones from 2008. Yet Ryan and Sanchez’s window of opportunity is getting smaller, and that might be severe enough before long.

Robert Dougherty is a life-long Philadelphia resident who has followed the Eagles since he was eight years old.

Other stories by this contributor

Rumors of Spagnuolo’s return to Eagles more of the same

Pro Bowl roster includes three standout Eagles

Eagles, Jackson ending year on best behavior

NFL power rankings after Week 16 set stage for finale

Eagles getting hot enough to keep both Reid, Castillo?

Note: This article was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Sign up here to start publishing your own sports content.

“Win, lose or draw, I’m the luckiest guy in the world, I promise,” Sanchez said Wednesday. “I’m lucky to be here. I’m lucky, fortunate, blessed, whatever you want to call it. I’m thrilled about this job and about this opportunity this week.”

Sanchez was referring to the chance he and the Jets (8-7) have to make right all that has gone wrong this season, and there has been plenty. New York is heading to play AFC East rival Miami (5-10) needing to win and also get plenty of help from other teams to have a chance at a third straight playoff trip.

The Jets had control of their postseason hopes at this time a week ago, but a miserable performance by Sanchez and his teammates in a 29-14 loss to the Giants last Saturday took care of all that.

“Look, the game never worked out,” coach Rex Ryan said. “That’s not the only game we’ve ever lost, but you’ve got to move on from it. You’ve got a challenge right in front of you. We have an opportunity. The facts are this: I know for sure that if we don’t win, we’re not in, so we better win, and we’ll see what happens. We’ll do whatever it takes, light candles, we’ll do it all.”

But it could all come down to the play of Sanchez, who threw a career-high 59 passes last week — something Ryan says “there is no way” the Jets will do again. It was much more than that, though: Sanchez threw two interceptions against the Giants, lost a fumble near the goal line and was sacked for a safety that sealed it.

“Have we played our best? No,” Sanchez said. “But it’s still the best time I could possibly scheme up in my head. We just have to keep pressing, be smart, win the game and see what happens.”

Despite two straight losses that have the Jets’ season teetering on the brink, Sanchez appeared more upbeat than he has in weeks. He was almost sullen while talking to the media previously.

Not on Wednesday. Sanchez answered every question as if he had snapped out of a funk, seeming more confident and thick-skinned even while some outside the team have wondered more than ever if he can lead the Jets to a Super Bowl. Not only that, fans and media members are debating whether this is as good as Sanchez will ever be.

He says there’s “no question” that he has “absolutely” improved in his third season.

“Whether it’s defensive recognition or clock management and stuff like that, understanding the offense and the system, I’m light years ahead,” he said.

The numbers actually aren’t all bad. His career-high 24 touchdown passes are the most since Vinny Testaverde had a franchise-high 29 in 1998. Sanchez is also on pace to have career highs in completions, completion percentage, quarterback rating and yards per game. But he also has been sacked a career-high 37 times and lost eight fumbles, and his decision-making and ability to read defenses have been questioned.

PHILADELPHIA—

— Eagles quarterback Michael Vick and New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress, whose teams will meet Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field, first played against each other in high school.

Now, deep into their pro careers, they have a lot more in common than having grown up in the state of Virginia.

Both spent two seasons out of the league while serving prison times for felonies — Vick for his role in a dogfighting ring and Burress for illegal possession of a gun that accidentally went off and delivered a bullet into his thigh in a New York nightclub in 2008.

Burress went to serve his sentence right around around the time Vick made his comeback with the Eagles in 2009.

“I would say if it wasn’t for Mike going through what he went through, maybe I wouldn’t have had a second chance,” Burress said. “A lot of people were saying he wouldn’t be able to play or perform at the level he played when he went away, and he’s proven everybody wrong.

“For me to sit there and watch the things he was doing, it gave me that hope and motivation just to keep working hard and that there’s a chance I could get back to playing at an elite level.”

Burress not-so-secretly hoped to join Vick upon his release from prison earlier this year. In fact, he wore a Phillies cap for the cameras that day. But the Eagles never made a move to sign him and the Jets did, and the rest is history.

Burress, who also spent three seasons with the New York Giants after starting his pro career in Pittsburgh, expects a typical Philly reception, but he’s looking forward to it.

“Over the years, it’s been one of those battles that I’ve had with them, two or three last-minute touchdowns to win games,” he said. “It’s just always a fun place for me, personally. I’m pretty sure the fans will boo me. But, they love me. They just don’t want to admit it. It’s going to be fun.”

Vick, meanwhile, can’t be as concerned about the reunion with Burress as he is with trying to get the Eagles, who won at Miami last week, back into a winning pattern. The team has won two games in a row just once this season, and needed a bye week between them to get it done. The Eagles also have just one home victory.

“You know, we can all change that around starting this week,” Vick said. “And we can’t do anything about the past, we can’t change it. It’s all about what we can do in the future.”

INJURY REPORT

Vick (ribs) is expected to start, along with WR Jeremy Maclin (hamstring), T Todd Herremans (ankle), DT Cullen Jenkins (groin), S Nate Allen (hamstring) and CB Nnamdi Asomugha (knee). DE Darryl Tapp (ribs) is listed as doubtful.

THE LAST WORD

Coach Andy Reid is not concerned about lack of motivation that could arise Sunday as the result of the Eagles being out of NFC East championship contention by kickoff if the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys both with their earlier games.

“No, listen,” he said, “I mentioned this on Monday, I guess it was, and Wednesday that everything is about the Jets right now. You can’t worry about anything else. You focus in on your preparation for the Jets and then you go play.”

nick.fierro@mcall.com

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